Tag: focus on your strengths

Entrepreneurs like to think that to be proper business people they need to know about all aspects of their business, no matter how mundane. There’s a sense that you’re not a real entrepreneur unless you know everything to do with business topics as disparate as payroll and client retention.

But the truth is that entrepreneurs don’t need to have in-depth knowledge of any of these concepts. That’s why people form companies: to collect people together who have the skills to manage all aspects of the company’s operations, where each person has an area of expertise. A marketing expert probably knows very little about employee compensation, just as an HR exec probably doesn’t know a lot about SEO.

Elon Musk is widely celebrated as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation, but even he admits that he doesn’t do much of the “business stuff” in his enterprises. He is, by his own admission, not particularly good at it. Musk’s strategy is to gather people around him who do know how to run a company so that he can focus on the part of his operations where he excels: the engineering of cars and rockets.

So what should budding entrepreneurs do to make sure that they don’t get sidetracked by the stuff in their business that doesn’t matter? How can they stay focused on their core operations?

Hire Outside Help

Perhaps the main thing that entrepreneurs can do is to hire outside help for tasks that neither require nor reward personal effort. Top PEO companies, for instance, can help business leaders avoid the administrative overhead of managing staff. These agencies take over things like employee benefits and payroll, allowing senior management to focus on the real goals of the firm: expanding, making more money, and developing new products.

Get A Mentor

Sometimes it can be hard to know what to focus on with so many options. A mentor can help you cut through the noise and focus only on the activities that will help you move towards your goal. While it may seem like a good idea, for instance, to learn all you can about SEO, it’s usually a lot more productive to get somebody who already knows the subject to take over its management, while you think about your actual products. James Dyson, the inventor of cyclone vacuums, didn’t become a success because he knew the intricacies of digital marketing. He just developed a product people loved and got somebody else to do the marketing for him.

Stop Wasting Time On Pointless Tasks

Whenever you use your time, be clear about whether it’s you who should be doing it, or whether you’d get better value by passing the job over to someone else.

You might think that you’re doing the right thing by taking on a task yourself, but a moment’s reflection could reveal otherwise.

For instance, you might be on the phone to people trying to organize a meeting. But if you have a secretary, why isn’t the secretary doing this work? Likewise, if you are doing payroll yourself, why? External companies can perform all your payroll tasks at a low cost, freeing you up to do more.

A lack of confidence in your career is more common than you might think, with many people feeling happy and confident in many areas of their lives, but not quite able to apply the same attitude to their work.

It’s easy for confidence issues to hold you back, stopping you from chasing that promotion or seeking a pay rise, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re serious about boosting your career, then it’s time to boost your career confidence and stop letting fear get in your way.

Here are some tips for growing confidence in your career that you can start using today.

Work out what your strengths are

It’s easy to throw yourself a bit of a pity party when it comes to your career and focus on the negatives. Focusing on your strengths can boost your workplace happiness, help you feel more satisfied as well as help you realize that there are areas of your work that you’re already confident in. Start making a list of the things you’re good at, and remind yourself of them regularly. This can help you figure out what you want from your career and set a pathway to achieving it.

Note your achievements and celebrate them

Do you ever attend a job interview or look at your resume and stumble when it comes to listing your ‘key achievements’? It’s something that many people struggle with, especially when you’re put on the spot. One way you can change that is to list your achievements as they happen. Evaluate what went well, what your input was and how it achieved certain objectives. If you need inspiration, there are some example achievements to list on your resume that could help you think harder about your other personal achievements.

So how can you celebrate those achievements? Let others know when you’ve done great work, share with friends and family or use it as an excuse to treat yourself. Acknowledging your own achievements can help you feel stronger in your abilities which will work wonders for your confidence.

Challenge yourself

How do you know what you’re capable of unless you challenge yourself? Sticking to the same jobs, the same tasks day-in, day-out can make it difficult to grow, hindering your confidence in the long-run. By opening yourself up to new challenges and experience, you can push yourself to develop in your career. There are some interesting ways to challenge yourself in your career that could lead you to new responsibilities and break you away from your usual day to day responsibilities.

Get some training

Sometimes, a lack of confidence is down to a lack of skills or knowledge. Seeking training and development opportunities can be a good way to boost your skill set and make you feel more in control at work. Some training is necessary to take the next step in your career, so if there are specific requirements and qualifications that you need to advance, add them to your personal development plan and look at ways you can achieve them.

Stand up for yourself

Just as you were told to at school, learning to stand up for yourself can help you break down some of the barriers that you’ve been facing, such as your colleagues or even your workload. Sometimes, standing up for yourself can require some legal help, and you can consult experts like Oilfield Injury Attorneys to discuss any accidents you might have had at work, or employment lawyers to discuss complicated matters such as discrimination. Don’t suffer in silence, learn to stand up for yourself to help you get that much-needed confidence at work.

Surround yourself with people who will boost your confidence

Surrounding yourself with people who show confidence can soon rub off on you, instilling positive behaviors that you can pick up on. Having people around you who will pick you up and cheer you on is important, and doing the same for others can help you become a better person who’s more confident in themselves. Avoid those who try to bring you down, as they can do a lot of damage to your self-esteem. Having a mentor is a great way to introduce a positive influence into your career, someone who can guide you along the right path and achieve your career milestones.

Growing your confidence in your career is something that takes time, but taking it step by step can help. Set yourself some confidence objectives to help you gain that much-needed confidence in your career.

Starting in the real world of offices and colleagues is never straightforward. There’s a lot to learn in a short time, and college isn’t the greatest nursery. For millennials, it’s twice as difficult because there are new rules that often conflict with the old ones. You have to focus on your career but not to give it too much thought, or make friends and socialize yet keep everyone at a distance.

Frankly, it’s exhausting, especially when you throw technology into the mix. How you measure your career is a personal decision, but in this new world, these tips might be able to help. Here are four things to remember in your early career.

Realize The Ladder Doesn’t Exist

Nope, this isn’t a budget sociology class posing as a helpful career post. The reality is the ladder that your parents and grandparents tried to climb doesn’t exist any longer. What people want from a job is changing all of the time, which is why it’s wrong to see it as either up or down. You can as easily move to the side or diagonally nowadays depending on your needs. Hopping from role to role to gain experience or boost your wage is perfectly acceptable, as is going backwards for happiness’ sake.

Embrace Your Quirks

Back in the day, somebody who wasn’t on the same page would be an outcast, a pariah. Like witches were burned at the stake, entrepreneurs were shunned from the boardroom. Thankfully, the culture is changing as peers, colleagues and bosses realize the importance of a different point of view. Therefore, your “quirky” outlook might make you the go-to person for a second opinion. Lots of millennials can carve out a lane by embracing the features which are dissimilar to everyone else’s. All you need is the courage of your convictions.

Be Ready To Jump

Technology has reached a level now where it’s possible to start a company from your bedroom. And, millennials are the best placed to take advantage because they understand the modern market, as well as the computer software. Look at how Spiegel and Zuckerberg created social media platforms and made billions. Do you think they saw the question “what does LLC mean?” and got scared? No, they did their research, believed in themselves, and took a leap of faith. Forget about your age and level of experience: if there’s an opportunity, grab it with both hands.

Never Sacrifice Happiness

Because there is no need to in the 21st century. As modern leaders of industries start to set the rules, there will be less emphasis on sitting behind a desk and clocking in and out. Today, there are lots of remote opportunities which don’t include working in an office. Not only that, but there are chances to balance your life outside of the office with the workplace, such as flexible hours. And, lots of businesses let their employees chip in with ideas on causes which are important to the world.

Put these features up there with how much the position pays when searching for a job. You deserve it.

Having a toddler at home makes you appreciate the small things in life.

Our daughter doesn’t plan much, communicates when she wants to and expects our attention at all times.

One thing that amazes me is how much progress she has made since she was born. In the moment it’s easy to forget, but when you look back at old pictures/videos it’s quite impressive.

I remember when she took her first steps. She wasn’t overly excited like her parents were or possibly even coherent about what just happened. She acted like she planned for this to happen for a while. Reminiscing about that time, reminds me the lesson(s) we can learn from her:

Goals are much more achievable if you break them into baby steps.

The next time you’re feeling down, look back and see how far you’ve come.

It’s so easy to focus on what we don’t have. Where we should be. What we haven’t accomplished. You can choose to focus on the negatives, but what if you stopped dwelling on the past/became anxious about the future and instead enjoyed the present?

I think my daughter’s simple, daily pleasures come from her mom. My wife has an uncanny ability to enjoy the moment. In fact, it’s influenced her husband at times (I’m still impatient though).